Posts Tagged ‘hurts’

You may have been told you were worthless your whole life. That you are a failure. That you’ll never amount to anything. That you’re unwanted, ugly, stupid..fill in the blank. You may have been unpopular. You may have been bullied, made fun of, or laughed at due to your appearance or your beliefs or interests – and that made you feel unloved.

If that was you, here’s what I want you to know:

Those labels are all lies.

Take a look at these scriptures:

Psalm 139:14
The Voice (emphasis added)
14 I will offer You my grateful heart, for I am Your unique creation, filled with wonder and awe.
You have approached even the smallest details with excellence;
Your works are wonderful;
I carry this knowledge deep within my soul.

1 Peter 2:9
The Voice (emphasis added)
9 But you are a chosen people, set aside to be a royal order of priests, a holy nation, God’s own; so that you may proclaim the wondrous acts of the One who called you out of inky darkness into shimmering light.

Luke 12:6-7 ESV (emphasis added)
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Isaiah 43:4a (emphasis added)
Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you.

Isaiah 49:16
The Voice (emphasis added)
16 Look here. I have made you a part of Me, written you on the palms of My hands.Your city walls are always on My mind, always My concern.

He loved you yesterday, He loves you today, He’ll love you tomorrow, and forevermore.

Whatever you’re struggling with right now, I pray peace over you. May you feel His presence in a new way today. He loves you dearly, never forget it.

Blessings,

Sarah

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Today’s devo selection:

God’s Love Fills Gaps and Gives Hope
by Harvey L. Diamond

God is love. His love is perfect. Human love on the other hand is imperfect and leaves gaps. Orphans know that. For whatever reason, they have been abandoned by their parents. The bond of love between parent and child has been broken. Automatically there is a love gap. God sacrificed His Son to fill in every human gap. That’s a picture of His love. He leaves no prisoners to the bondage of abandonment. He is always there. ”I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:18). Where do you need a touch of God’s love?

RELEVANCE
When I was 7 my mother died. A bond of love had been broken. Something was missing for a long time, but I didn’t know what. At 19 the LORD demonstrated in a real way that He had been there in a way I never knew. Coming to the knowledge of His love brought a measure of peace. He revealed a way of access to His grace in a way I had never imagined. His faithfulness captured my heart, and in faith, I became a believer. It brought a new kind of hope I thought didn’t exist. I re-connected to life; His life!

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5:1-5).

REFLECT AND RELATE
What gap exists in your heart? Let the LORD fill it with His love; a kind of love that brings peace and hope. Ask Him to demonstrate the reality of His love. Ask Him to reveal how He is there—now—with you.

The pity party is on my nerve. I think it’s high time we all stop complaining, and start giving praise.

Yes, life gets hard.

But who do you serve?

If you serve The Lord God Almighty, you have reason to praise in every situation. He’s a GOOD God, and will turn every evil thing into good for those who love Him. That’s a great reason to praise! He didn’t bring your hard times, the devil did! Personal choices may have even played a roll. But He is not to blame. He desires good for you. His plans for you are good, and not involving destruction! So stop feeling sorry, and start praisin Him!

It’s time to stop giving our attention to the enemy, and singing his filthy praises. Whenever we complain, we sing the enemy’s praises. YUCK! We’ve got to get out of constantly dwelling on ourselves and our trials, and instead get our eyes on helping others, and being a light in this world.

So, today, lets all commit to seeing how long we can go without complaining or thinking of ourselves. Maybe even keep a tally of how many times throughout the day we catch ourselves in “self pity”. Counteract those thoughts by instead doing something for someone else. For example, if you catch yourself feeling “so sorry” or “so upset” about something, counteract that feeling of pity by sending a note of encouragement to someone!

In other news, I won’t be able to post again until next week. So let me encourage you to enjoy this week to congratulate yourself when you notice growth, and don’t give up on yourself when you miss a step. Just keep on keepin on, brothers and sisters!

We’ll chat soon..

Sarah

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Today’s devo selection:

Saying ‘No’ To Self-Pity
By: J.M. Farro

“The bread of idleness (gossip, discontent, and self-pity) she (the virtuous woman) will not eat.” – Proverbs 31:27 AMP

I recently went through some difficulties that got me so discouraged that I found myself wrestling with feelings of self-pity. Years ago, I might have played some sad songs and cried my eyes out, deriving a sort of perverse satisfaction from my misery. But this time, I prayed and asked the Lord to help me resist these negative emotions. That’s when He reminded me about some teaching I heard years ago about self-pity. I once heard a godly man say, “God is concerned about your hurt, but He doesn’t want YOU concerned about it.” This man went on to say that the reason self-pity is so destructive is that pride is at the root of it, and it causes us to focus too much on ourselves. I looked “self-pity” up in the dictionary and found the following definition: “A self-indulgent dwelling on one’s own sorrows or misfortunes.”

Psychiatrists have an interesting name for people who habitually indulge in self-pity–it’s “injustice collector.” These are the folks who are constantly dwelling on their hurts and hardships – whether real or imagined – and they enjoy thinking about them and talking about them. They lovingly collect and number each and every offense that others commit against them, and they search out people who will sympathize with them and commiserate with them. All this keeps the focus on themselves, which is what they want most. But this isn’t God’s way. He instructs us to walk in the God-kind of love, which is “not self-seeking,” and which “keeps no record of wrongs.” (1 Corinthians 13:5 NIV) This is not to say that we should ignore or deny when we’re being mistreated, but that we should take constructive action to see that we’re treated with proper respect, or remove ourselves from harm’s way, rather than sit idly by, feeling sorry for ourselves.

Self-pity isn’t just nonproductive – it’s destructive. It can lead to bitterness, unforgiveness, and resentment. It doesn’t bring people together – it divides them. And these are some of the reasons why Satan works so hard to get us to focus on our wounds, rather than the cure – which is the love and wisdom of God. Throughout the pages of the Bible, God tells us again and again that He wants us to bring our hurts and sorrows to Him, so that HE can comfort us. He not only wants to be our Comforter, but our Vindicator. (Psalm 135:14) If we’ll let Him, He will defend us and fight our battles for us, leading us to victory every time. He tells us in His Word: “I, the Lord, love justice. I hate robbery and wrongdoing. I will faithfully reward my people for their suffering…” (Isaiah 61:8 NLT)

A good antidote for self-pity is forgiveness. As we forgive those who offend us, we can let go of our negative emotions and ill-feelings toward others, and we can receive the comfort and healing that can only come from God. Scripture says: “In all their suffering He also suffered, and He personally rescued them. In His love and mercy, He redeemed them. He lifted them up and carried them through all the years.” (Isaiah 63:9 NLT) God hurts when we hurt, and He wants to be our Deliverer. But we can block His efforts to comfort and rescue us when we insist on holding on to our feelings of resentment, bitterness, and unforgiveness. As we choose to forgive, we open the door to God’s involvement, and all the blessings and provisions that entails. Another good antidote for self-pity is thankfulness. The Bible says: “Thank [God] in everything [no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks], for this is the will of God for you [who are] in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18 AMP) No matter what is going on in our lives, we always have reason to give thanks to God and praise Him. Nothing is more offensive to God than our dwelling on our misfortunes and losses, and neglecting to recognize and enumerate all of the blessings He bestows on us daily.

Helen Keller said, “Self-pity is our worst enemy and if we yield to it, we can never do anything good in the world.” We have been chosen by God, not just to live eternally with Him in heaven, but to make a difference for Him while we’re still here on earth. Let’s not allow self-pity to neutralize all the good we can do in this world in the name of Jesus.

Prayer:
Lord, please alert me whenever I begin to feel sorry for myself. Keep me from being overly-sensitive and self-absorbed, and teach me to bring all of my hurts and hardships straight to You. When I do, heal and comfort me the way that only You can. Give me the grace I need to forgive others quickly and thoroughly, and to praise You in all things. Thank You that as I resist self-pity in the power of Your Spirit, I will be rewarded by a gracious and grateful God!

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I'm on a never ending journey of spiritual growth. I'm a bit (a lot) sarcastic, with a dry sense of humor. I enjoy raw, real conversations. The truth of who we are is so much better than the charade!
I'm a wife and mom, and I love it! My life is busy, fulfilling, and challenging. It's been about ups and downs, twists and turns, stagnation and growth. Today, I choose growth above bathing in the chaos of stagnation.
Most importantly, I'm forever in love with my Savior, and want to encourage you to grow in Him. Knowing that He adores you, and has a great plan for your life. You're never alone, there's no pit deep enough that the touch of Grace can't reach down and pull you out.
I look forward to hearing from you!

Trust me, I've been there, I've looked, I've searched and I know now, that there are no answers to be found in the bottom of a bottle or on the edge of a blade! Fighting Hard, Recovering, Rebuilding, REBORN. Moving on from addiction to a new life.

Romans 8:16-17: “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”